In the annual survey of all 30 GMs, Smith was voted as the steal of the 2017 draft after the Mavericks snagged him with the ninth overall pick as 37 percent of the talent evaluators tabbed the 6-3 point guard. The LA Lakers' Kyle Kuzma, a late first-round pick, was second at 22 percent.

However, Smith was no better than the third choice for rookie of the year, well behind the Lakers' Lonzo Ball and also trailing Philadelphia's Ben Simmons, who sat out last year after being the top pick in 2016.

For those looking for a silver lining in that projection, the GMs also thought Kris Dunn (then of Minnesota) would be rookie of the year and he never played well enough to merit consideration at season's end.

Rick Carlisle also got commended by the GMs. As he has been several times previously, he was voted the best coach in the league at making in-game adjustments. He also got a vote for best overall head coach and best manager/motivator of players.

As is a yearly tradition, San Antonio's Gregg Popovich was a runaway winner in both of those categories.

The GM survey has been done for years and usually creates a bit of buzz for the league heading into the regular season. But the results this year were much the same as they were last season, with Golden State the overwhelming favorite to win the championship and LeBron James as the choice to win MVP.